Actor Brendan Fraser will receive the TIFF Tribute Award for Performance at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF organizers announced on Monday.
Fraser is attending the festival for the North American premiere of Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale,” in which he stars as a severely obese man attempting to repair a fractured relationship with his teenage daughter (played by “Stranger Things” star Sadie Sink). He will receive the award during the TIFF Tribute Awards, an in-person gala fundraiser that will take place on Sunday, Sept. 11 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.
Also at that ceremony, another TIFF Tribute Award for Performance will go to the ensemble cast of “My Policeman,” including Harry Styles, Emma Corrin and Rupert Everett, as well as to “Empire of Light” director Sam Mendes.
“The Whale” is based on the stage play by Samuel D. Hunter and will be released by A24. In a press release announcing the award, TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey called Fraser’s performance one “of staggering depth, power and nuance.”
The actor, who was born in the U.S. to Canadian parents, spent part of his youth in Toronto before beginning an acting career that has included “With Honors,” “Gods and Monsters,” the “Mummy” trilogy and Martin Scorsese’s upcoming “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
The 2023 Toronto International Film Festival will take place from Sept. 8-18.
